


The Way Home

by JunkerFawkes, PumpkinSpite



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blackwatch au, Cadet AU, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Omnic Crisis, Slow Burn, Tags might change later on!, Uprising AU, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-22 14:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10698921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JunkerFawkes/pseuds/JunkerFawkes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinSpite/pseuds/PumpkinSpite
Summary: A young man from Brazil aspires to make a change in the world by joining Overwatch. Another young man from Australia already lost faith that there will ever be peace...A Blackwatch AU inspired by the Uprising Event. Ages have been slightly altered to fit the setting.A collaboration with JunkerFawkes





	1. The Cadets

“No! Fuck this! They can’t do this to us!”  
Jamison jumped out of his chair, his prosthetic leg making a clicking noise when he stressed out the knee joint too much.  
His commander, Mako Rutledge, sighed, leaning his crossed arms on the table. “It is how it is though. I’m sorry, Jamie.”  
“But - But they can’t just disband Blackwatch! Are they out of their goddamn minds?” Jamison’s voice was loud with a certain kind of despair. Blackwatch was all he ever knew.  
“Neither me or Commander Reyes are happy about this either, Jamie. But we have to make due.” Mako sighed. 

The distraught younger man sank back into his chair and run one of his hands through his messy blonde hair. He was eyeing Mako, who’s blue eyes seemed awfully tender today different from his usual hard demeanor. He seemed just as shaken as Jamison. No surprise, considering that Blackwatch was all they had.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Mako sighed.  
Jamison smirked and crossed his arms. “Is that so, ya big lug?”  
“You’re wondering what will happen now. Correct?” Mako smirked knowingly.  
Jamison’s hand supported his neck as he leaned back. Mako knew him too well.  
“Reyes and I will try to settle an agreement with Morrison and Amari as soon as possible. Until then I’m forced to mainly do - office work.” He almost spat out those words as if they left a bad taste in his mouth.  
“And what about me? You leaving me out to dry or what?” Jamison frowned.  
“Morrison and I have started to set up a new team of cadets for abroad duties. The latest recruitment programs seemed to have carried some interesting fruits.” Mako explained.  
“Like that time-travel chick?” Jamison scoffed.  
“No. Miss Oxton is still classified until Doctor Ziegler has finished her research.” Mako shook his head.  
“Ah. So I don’t get to play with Overwatch’s New Star, then?” Jamison said in a mocking tone of voice.  
“Jamie.” Mako gave him a disciplinary stare.   
“Sorry, sorry. But - you’re saying you basically throw me into a group of newbies?” Jamison asked.   
“They’ll need someone who knows his way around for adjustments.” Mako nodded. “Way I see it, you’re the best candidate.”  
“Can’t you ask Genji?” Jamison remained stubborn.  
“He is not under my command. You are.” Mako argued. “I want you to be okay, even if Blackwatch ceases to exist. I’m just trying to look out for you.”  
Jamison made a face. “I ain’t got a choice, huh?”  
“Nope.” Mako grinned.   
Jamison groaned and heaved himself up from his chair. “Fine. Show me the noobs. I’ll try and bend them into shape.”

\-----

“That’s the wrong hand, Hana.”  
“Hey, this isn’t the first time I’m saluting, okay?”  
“Will you two tune it down already? The Commander and Lieutenant are almost here.”

Once again Lúcio adjusted his little cap. He hadn’t been this nervous since he was accepted into Overwatch. He was very proud that day, would boast to everyone and anyone how he would now be able to become a field medic, an emergency medic on duty for one of the most highly esteemed military task forces in the world. Sure, he had no medical education. But he was going to get it here, from some of the best physicians on the planet, while also working for the greater good. The young Brazilian was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, arching his back once more to train his salute. He wanted to make a good first impression on his squad commander and his lieutenant.

He wasn’t alone, thankfully. With him were the two other graduates of the recruitment program he joined almost a year ago - Cadet Hana Song, a former Mech Operator from South Korea and Cadet Fareeha Amari, daughter of Overwatch Captain Ana Amari and strike force soldier in training. He liked the two girls a lot. They were his only company at this place, the only familiar faces. Being so far away from home was tough. He never left Brazil before being recruited and the cultural shock was still very much present. Thankfully his two squadmates helped him settle in.

Finally, the sliding noise of a door opening echoed through the training hall. Lúcio, Hana and Fareeha stiffened and immediately saluted. Lúcio felt his hand trembling. Finally he was part of a task force. Finally he could prove his abilities to a commanding officer. He would do everything in his might to prove himself, prove he had a reason to be here.

Two figures came into the hall. Two men, both tall like trees, but that was where the similarities ended. The older one was big and fat, a true mountain of a man. The ponytail and beard he sported were both greying and contrasting with his weather-beaten, scar-covered skin. He wore a heavy black long coat, Blackwatch insignia on the arms. Big biker boots with spikes on the nose, five rings on his left hand, one on each finger. 

His companion was a lanky, almost comically thin looking fellow with broad shoulders. The light blonde hair didn’t help his fair complexion, making him look incredibly pale, despite being covered in moles and freckles. He wore what looked like a short, dirty leather jacket over a red and black skin-tight suit, also sporting Blackwatch’s logo. Lúcio noticed his limping walk when the two approached the cadets. He was wearing a frankly old-fashioned looking prosthetic on his right leg. Well, ‘prosthetic’ was a stretch. It was a peg-leg, that made little mechanical noises with every step. It really could use some oil. 

Lucio didn’t know what to make of the duo. These two were their superiors? They looked like a disaster waiting to happen! He was still busy staring at them while they approached and saluted at the new recruits, the larger man taking the lead since he was obviously the more experienced one. The thin man had to be his second in command, then. 

“At ease, recruits.” the big man said, his voice booming like thunder. Lucio, Hana and Fareeha stood down but still payed eager attention to the man in front of them.   
“Welcome to Overwatch. My name is Commander Rutledge. But Commander will do. This is my second, Jamison Fawkes. Any questions can be directed to him so I can do the really important stuff. Got it?”  
“Yes sir.” all three recruits nodded in unison.   
“We’ll see about that.” the commander handed Jamison a ledger and smiled at him with a challenge. “Training’s about to get started. I trust you can handle a couple of recruits, Lieutenant.” the man grinned, exposing a pair of unusually large canines on his bottom jaw.  
“You got it.” Jamison was unfazed by the commander’s challenge and took the ledger. “Anything else, Commander?” the sneer in the last word nearly had Lucio chuckle. Jamison had some guts talking to his superior like that. Rutledge only huffed, though a small smile played around his lips.

“Just don’t get ‘em killed on their first day.” 

And with those words, Commander Rutledge left them, the door sliding shut behind him and leaving the three recruits with Jamison, who checked the ledger and eyed all three of them with interest. 

“Roight, let’s get started. I’ll call names, you respond with ‘present’ and then we can get started. Amari?”  
“Present!” Fareeha saluted.   
“Song?” Jamison said as he checked Fareeha’s name off the list.  
“Present!” Hana followed Fareeha’s example.  
“And Corra - Correy? Ah, fuck...Correia Dos Santos? Am I saying that correctly?” Jamison looked at Lucio since he was the last one left.   
“Present. And yes, sir.” Lucio said, saluting as well.   
“Okay. If I were Commander Rutledge I’d be bollocking you right now. I never asked you to salute, just to say ‘present’. Keep it in mind or the old bloke’s gonna have a field day yelling at ya.” Jamison warned. “Right. Start by warming up, I presume you all have your ways, go on ahead and show me how you get prepped.” 

The three recruits shared a short glance with each other before they started their warming up, something Lucio usually did by stretching for a minute, then going for a small jog. There was plenty of room for him to drop and do his stretches, though today he did them more thoroughly than he’d ever done before. He was hell-bent on impressing his superiors, one way or another. Knowing he was being watched and judged made him want to excel even more. 

While they were warming up, Jamison approached him and watched for a moment before he spoke, low volume so the others wouldn’t hear.   
“Listen, is it okay if I call you Dos Santos? I kind of struggled there with your surname.” he asked, considerately. Lucio smiled feintly.  
“Sure, you’re not the first, sir.” he confirmed.   
“Thanks.” Jamison nodded and proceeded his rounds, checking on Hana and Fareeha during their warm up as well. 

“Right, time’s up.” he eventually called. “Let’s get to work!”

And he really made those words true. They were worked properly, thoroughly and yet efficiently, every muscle in their body was being trained and used intensively, climbing ropes, racks, jumping over gym equipment, or simply running at full speed, they did all that in the space of an hour, and Lucio felt the sweat run down his back. 

“Hydration break, recruits.” Jamison announced, gesturing for them to come get the bidons of water he’d put on the table for them. He’d been at that table studying them as they did their assigned exercises, taking notes for the Commander no doubt. Lucio was quick to take a bottle of water and drink it down.   
“Hey don’t drink too quickly.” Jamison warned. “You have time. Take a seat and catch your breath.”  
“Right.” Lucio nodded, doing as Jamison had suggested and plopping down on the floor with little consideration for his own backside. “That was quite the workout.”  
“Work out?” Jamison frowned. “This is just the beginning. The Commander will take over in a bit. You’re in for a rough day, I’m afraid.” he smiled sympathetically. “He can be quite the drill sergeant. I remember, on my first day of training he pushed me so hard I nearly passed out.”  
“Really?” Lucio said, eyebrows furrowing in shock.  
“Yeah. Said he wanted to see what it took for me to give up. I refused to quit, so I passed. Couldn’t move properly for three days after that.” Jamison smirked. “It gets better, I promise.” he winked quickly before the door opened and Commander Rutledge entered the training room.   
“Commander.” Jamison saluted.  
“Fawkes. How are things going here?”  
“They’re warmed up and ready to go.” Jamison nodded. “I’ll hand them over to your capable hands.”

“It’s been a while since you’ve trained properly.” the Commander noted as Jamison handed him back the ledger. Jamison frowned as he looked back at the Commander.  
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”  
“That you should train with them. See how you compare to them.”  
“Or not.” Jamison frowned sarcastically.  
“Or it’s an order. Staying in shape is important.” the Commander insisted as he took the ledger from Jamison, who seemed less than happy about this. He grumbled something, took off his leather jacket with short, annoyed movements, leaving him only in his skin tight suit.   
“You know that drink I promised you? Forget it.” he snapped, joining the recruits in line.   
“I don’t know how I’ll recover from this traumatic blow. Truly.” Commander Rutledge’s voice was lined with thick sarcasm.   
“Right, time to show what you’re all really made of.”

They followed Commander Rutledge outside, since the weather was nice and the obstacle course was free. It was a military grade obstacle course, difficult and hard on the body.   
Lucio was surprised to have the second in command join them, especially since Jamison had a peg leg. He’d never be able to keep up with them, would he? Lucio was worried despite himself. This didn’t seem fair and a bit humiliating if anything. 

They did a quick scan of the course so they knew what they were going to have to face, time Jamison used to get warmed up. He seemed relaxed, despite being unhappy about this arrangement. Lucio wondered if he should say something, but he thought it wasn’t his place. They were his superiors after all. 

“Alright, all set?”  
“Yes, sir!” the four chimed.   
“First one out of the course gets the day off. Ready, set, go!” Commander Rutledge sprung surprise after surprise on them and Lucio was quick to dart away at the signal. The rest of the day off? The stakes were suddenly a lot higher and competition was fierce. All three recruits bolted towards the first obstacle, but Jamison was way ahead of them. Lucio watched in awe as the Lieutenant was already nearly at the top of the climbing rack with one agile jump, his peg leg was no hindrance for him at all. If anything, it seemed to enhance his abilities. Lucio met him halfway when he was climbing, catching a cheeky smile from Jamison as he descended on the other side.   
“See you at the finish, rookies!” 

Lucio heard Commander Rutledge laugh, and realized the two must have planned this. Perhaps it was a way to see how the recruits would react, but Lucio took it as a learning opportunity. He watched how Jamison moved, the efficiency of his body as he tackled everything the course threw at him. He’d probably ran this course a thousand times, but still Lucio could learn from following his lead. 

Jamison beat them with about two minutes, Hana finished last though they were all pretty close with their times.   
“And that is what you’ll be able to do when this training is over.” Commander Rutledge gestured at Jamison, who put his leather jacket back on. He’d hardly broken a sweat.  
“They were quicker than the last bunch though.” Jamison noted. “They’ll do well.”  
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Rutledge argued.   
“Whatever. Day off. See you later.” Jamison grinned, saluting before he turned and left. Rutledge rolled his eyes before he turned to the three recruits.  
“Go get cleaned up and changed. I expect you in the main hall in an hour.”  
“Yes sir.” the three recruits saluted and then stood down as the Commander left.

“Phew.Commander Rutledge is really something.” Hana sighed, wiping her face with a towel.   
“He’s probably strict for a reason.” Fareeha said, still catching her breath from running the course. “He wouldn’t put us through this if it didn’t serve some kind of purpose.”  
“Training is always essential. You saw what Lieutenant Fawkes did. We need to be that good.” Lucio said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”

Lucio went ahead to the men’s locker and shower room, being the only one there at this time of day. It gave him some time to reflect, to let this morning’s happenings dawn on him. He showered quickly, getting into the uniform he’d been given at the start of this day and then started heading to the main hall. Better to be early than late, after all. 

When he arrived, only Jamison was there, with a bag of sandwiches, no doubt intended for the recruits.   
“Oh, hello. You’re early!” Jamison greeted him. “You must be hungry after all that. Here.”   
“Thought you had the day off, sir?” Lucio asked.   
“I’d prefer to stick with the new recruits on your first day. It’ll be me training you for most of your time here, so it’s best I don’t slack off.” Jamison smiled as Lucio took a sandwich out of the bag. There were more bottles of water stacked on a bench nearby so he took one of those before he sat down. He sat a respectable distance from Jamison, though he seemed friendly enough. He was still Lucio’s superior. 

“How are you finding it so far?” Jamison asked.   
“Tough, but I can tell you’re trying to get the best out of us. I’m sure we’re in good hands.” Lucio nodded. “But I love finding the edge. It makes us fitter and better in the long run.”  
“Oh you’ll find your edge here, don’t worry.” Jamison smiled. “You did good though. Got some potential in you. I could see it on the course. You were watching me, weren’t you?”  
“I was. I figured you were experienced so I could learn from you.”  
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for, though don’t be afraid to use whatever works best for you. No one’s the same.”   
Lúcio nodded and saluted, which made Jamison shake his head. “Hey, relax, boy. As long as Mako ain’t around ya don’t have to do that whole salutation crap. I used to be a cadet just like you and them.” he started to grin again, showing uneven teeth as he reached for a water bottle.

“Ah. I’m sorry, I was taught to be respectful to superiors.” Lúcio tried to relax a bit more, but it still felt awkward.   
“Who taught ya that? Morrison Mc Statue-Face?” Jamison scoffed.   
“If you mean Commander Jack Morrison, then yes.” Lucio nodded.  
Jamison groaned and rolled his eyes. “Listen, pretty boy, you guys are gonna be a task force. The folks in Blackwatch are a bit more...flexible with rules, if ya catch my drift. We do what’s important and we do what’s right. Those daisies in the higher ranks of Overwatch are more scared of losing their face in public than being shot at on the field. Only good person we got left up there’s Amari and she’s still bound to what the big cheese has to say.”  
He took a big gulp from the bottle, as if he wanted to build up tension for what he was about to say next.

“If they were really that golden and worthy of respect, they wouldn’t bloody retire us.” Jamison grunted.  
Lúcio looked at him in confusion. “Retire? What do you mean?”  
Jamison couldn’t answer. The door opened up and Hana and Fareeha finally joined them. “Took ya ladies long enough.” Jamison grinned.  
“Sorry, Lieutenant.” Fareeha replied with a salute, which made him groan again.  
“Jesus, you’re your mom’s daughter alright! No need to be so formal. Also, out of Mako’s sight, it’s Jamison, not Lieutenant. Or Rat. That’s what people call me in Blackwatch.”  
The girls exchanged puzzled glances with Lúcio, who just shrugged. No need to question the command of a superior, he thought. Still, what he’d just heard Jamison say, it was kind of unsettling. Who was being retired? What could it mean for them? 

He supposed he would find out sooner or later.


	2. The Lieutenant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life in Overwatch is starting to settle in...for now.

The first two weeks were horrible. Nothing in comparison to the prep-training they had received when they were recruited. Lúcio was starting to long back to those days. Commander Rutledge was indeed, as Jamison would put it, a hard-ass.

“Known the guy since I was ten.” he once mused in between training sessions. “Used to be the head of Watchpoint:Timaru, before they abandoned it. Too close to the radiation in Australia I guess. Fucked up the Kiwis real good.”  
“I knew you had an accent!” Hana exclaimed and closed her water bottle. “You’re from New Zealand?”  
“Ya kiddin’ me? I ain’t no kiwi, I’m a full-blown Australian boy! Right out of the bush! Only kiwi ‘round here is Mako, the old bastard.”  
“Wait. Does that mean you were there when-?” Fareeha asked, but Jamison lifted his hand.  
“Oi, I hear him coming, we better get going.”  
Lúcio huffed quietly. The lieutenant liked to avoid the topic of the Australian Omnium explosion, a disaster that destroyed the Australian outback and it’s surrounding areas. He would always change the subject when they somehow landed on the topic. 

It wasn’t the only habit Lúcio picked up. He noticed a lot of things Jamison did that seemed weird at first glance. His peg-leg was a very striking feature of his person. He wondered why he would prefer to basically walk on a stick for a leg instead of using a prosthetic leg. He assumed he was simply used to it by now. He did mention once in a quick chat that he lost his leg when he was a kid.

Another weird thing about Jamison was his actual job. Or hobby. Lúcio wasn’t too sure if it was one or the other or even both. Jamison was the demolition expert of Blackwatch. Self-proclaimed, according to Rutledge. Sometimes when Lúcio, Fareeha and Hana were busy doing sit-ups, parcouring through obstacle courses or practicing at shooting booths, Jamison would sit on the side with a screwdriver in his hand and work on what looked like the most blocky and rough pipe bomb one could imagine. Hana had voiced worries about it, and Lucio understood where she was coming from. Working with what looked like explosives near a training site seemed pretty irresponsible. But Jamison wouldn’t do that without knowing how to handle those components properly, Lucio assured himself almost to the point where he believed it.

The weekly schedule was starting to finally settle in From monday to friday, the crew would meet up at 6 to start the training, have breakfast at 7:30 and then continue training until lunch at 12:30. After that they warmed down and had the evening to themselves with communal dinner always being at 6:30. 

The lessons varied from safety lessons to arsenal inspections to just even more sports. Rutledge sure loved his jogging rounds.  
The only exception was Tuesday and Friday. Those were the days, when after lunch, the cadets were split and received individual training. Fareeha got more intensive military training under the supervision of Overwatch superiors, Hana got introduced to engineering classes due to her experiences as a MEKA pilot, and Lúcio received the medical education he had always dreamed of. His teacher, a doctor named Angela Ziegler, was very patient with him. She showed him how to perform basic first aid measures as well as how to use the organisation’s own medical equipment. Although Lúcio found the staff to be a little hindering. He might need to find a way to make this less bulky and more convenient for himself…

One Friday evening though, after he left his lessons, Lúcios tumbled across something unusual. Usually Rutledge would lock up the training halls after five o’clock. He seemed to not be pleased with people using them after regular training for some reason.

However today, when Lúcio walked past the door, he could hear the echos of feet tapping and someone huffing in exhaustion through the door. That’s odd. If someone’s inside after hours they might get into trouble. Should he go and get the commander? No, that would be unfair. Whoever’s in there was probably just trying to train in their own pace. It’s still weird, since it was long past 7. Most cadets would be up and running to the cafeteria around that time to get some dinner they could take back into their dorms. Maybe the person was hungry. They did sound a bit tired.

His curiosity got the better of him. Lúcio opened the door with his ID card, walked down the hall past the locker rooms and showers and headed for the gym.

The hall was empty aside from a few benches and the climbing ropes hanging from the ceiling. The source of the noise was Lieutenant Fawkes. Lúcio wasn’t sure how to feel about seeing a man with a peg-leg doing sit-ups, but the fact he was able to do it was impressive. Jamison was huffing quietly, muttering numbers to himself it seemed. Lúcio stayed in the door frame to the hall, watching his lieutenant. It seemed he had been training for a while already. His forehead and bare shoulders were covered in sweat and his shirt had a fitting stain on his back.

Lúcio leaned against the frame, his arms crossed. This was...fun. He didn’t consider himself to be a peeping tom, but here and there it was kinda tingling to watch someone work out this hard. Especially someone with such surprisingly toned muscles in comparison to a rather thin build.

“Heh - enjoying the show, cadet?”  
Lúcio was torn right out of his thoughts. Only now he realized that the lieutenant was staring back at him, his face covered with a shit-eating grin. Immediately Lúcio stiffened and went into a straight pose.  
“E-Excuse me, Lieutenant, I-I just heard noises in here and-and wanted to check if someone in here needed support!”  
“Geez, mate, get that stick outta ya butt, I told ya to not call me by fancy names. It’s not like the walls have ears or something.” Jamison chuckled, still holding himself up, his arms shaking a little due to the stress he put them through. “Ya liked that, ey? Watch ‘til ya see this!”  
Jamison lifted his one arm up and held it behind his back. Shaking even more he tried to push himself up again. “One…” he groaned but as soon as he was back up, his hand seemed to slip. Without warning, Jamison collapsed face first onto the floor.  
“Lieutenant!” Lúcio gasped and ran over to his superior, kneeling down next to him. “Are you okay?”

With another groan, Jamison raised his head, looking a bit cross-eyed. His face was red and wet from his training, but there was a spot on his forehead that probably came from him hitting his head. “Ah, shit, man...slipped up. Heh, that’s what I get for trying to be a poser.”  
“Are you okay?” Lucio repeated, helping Jamison sit up.  
“Yeah, yeah! I’m good! Had much worse!” Jamison forced himself to his feet, pointing at his prosthetic leg. “I’ll hit the showers! Thanks for asking, though!” he avoided any attempt that Lucio made to stop him and quickly hobbled towards the showers, almost as if he was fleeing from him.

Lucio decided it was best to let it be, so he returned to his bunk, sitting down on the one person bed and kicking his shoes off. He put on some music, took a book and some coffee, settling down from yet another intensive training day. 

It wasn’t too long before there was a knock on the door, Lucio hopping off his bed to open up.  
“Oh, Lieu- Jamison.” he said, surprised. The bruise on Jamison’s forehead looked more painful now than before.  
“Hey, can I come in?” Jamison asked.  
“Of course.” Lucio stepped aside to let Jamison in.  
“Thanks.” Jamison entered the room and found the nearest place to sit down, his hand grabbing his face with a painful expression.  
“Look- I know i said I was fine, but the pain isn't fading and I’m feeling dizzy.” Jamison muttered. “Could you take a look?”  
“Isn’t that Angela’s job?”  
“Well sure but- you were there. You saw what happened. That way I don’t have to explain it and embarrass myself. Again.” Jamison chuckled.  
“It was kind of embarrassing.” Lucio smiled with a tease. “Alright, let me get my staff.”  
“Thanks.” Jamison nodded when Lucio picked up his staff from a corner he’d stowed it in.  
“Let me see the bruise.” Lucio mumbled, leaning closer to Jamison’s face to inspect the place of impact. “I have some cooling salve that will lighten the pain. My staff will fix any concussion you may have suffered.”  
“I can’t believe I gave myself a concussion by wanting to show off.” Jamison scoffed.  
“Well, I was pretty impressed, right until your face slammed into the floor.” Lucio joked.  
“Yeah? Liked watching the gun show, huh?” Jamison flexed with a laugh in his voice. “Ow!” he recoiled when Lucio touched his forehead, Lucio smiling apologetically.  
“Sorry.” Lucio switched his staff to it’s healing mode, it was enough to cure minor ailments, small wounds and cuts, light concussions were probably within it’s skill level. 

“There, give it a few minutes.” Lucio said, once he’d set everything up. “You want some coffee?”  
“No thanks. I’ll take some tea if you got some?” Jamison asked, obviously not wanting to impose.  
“No problem.” Lucio said, going to the small kitchen that was in his bunk. “Hey, can I ask something?”  
“Sure.” Jamison said, looking up from twisting his thumbs.  
“When you said they were disbanding you, what did you mean?” Lucio put on the kettle before turning to look at his Lieutenant.  
“Ah, that.” Jamison made a clicking noise with his tongue. “I meant Blackwatch. It’s not officially a thing anymore. We’ve become a part of Overwatch now. We’re supposed to listen to the government and the big suits up there who get to tell us what to do.” Jamison pulled up his lip in annoyance. “Blackwatch was getting ‘out of hand’, or so they insisted. If you ask me the world needs a taskforce willing to do what needs to be done, no matter the cost.”  
Lúcio scratched his goatee. “I heard Blackwatch isn’t exactly popular with the public. Too rough. Too brutal…”  
“But that’s the point of a task force!” Jamison replied, hands flat on his knee and metal joint. “We were made to do the things the fancy soldier boys can’t do. We did the dirty work. Trust me, Blackwatch was more active than any of those tits in the upper floors have ever been. Reyes worked his butt off for this circus and how do the people thank him? By ripping his baby away from him.”

Lúcio sat up with a sigh and picked up the water kettle.  
“He built Blackwatch from the ground up, ya know?” Jamison continued. “Gabriel Reyes made Blackwatch to what it is. Morrison might be the face of Overwatch and Amari might be the heart, but Reyes? Reyes is the brains. He knows how to get things done, and it’s not by bending down to the demands of politicians or smiling at cameras.”  
“It can’t be that easy.” Lúcio finally replied. “The political situation is pretty messed up right now. I don’t think they want to risk pissing off even more people.”  
Jamison grinned, but there was no amusement in his face. “As if Overwatch’s reputation has always been spotless.”  
While fishing for a bag of tea, Lúcio glanced over his shoulder. Jamison was hunching a little and let his arms hang into his lap. The look on his face was weird. Hard to read. Only now did Lúcio realize how bright Jamison’s eyes actually were. Probably bright enough to burn holes into the back of his head. A strange amber colour to them, a shimmer of fire as if Jamison wasn’t already fiery enough. 

“I always idolized Overwatch, you know.” Lúcio began to mutter. “Ever since the first Omnic Crisis. People were always rioting. Companies like Vishkar took away homes and jobs. My parents worked themselves to the bone, just so my sister and I could have a proper education. Away from home.” His finger traced along the tea cup he had picked from the shelf. “I’m not naive. I know things can’t always be solved without violence and escalations. But isn’t it better to first approach problems peacefully and then, if needed, resort to harsher methods?”  
“Kid.” Jamison replied and that word made Lúcio spin around. “We are talking about robots here. Tin cans. Machines. Do you really think you can make a machine that was programmed to shoot things, stop shooting things by talking? That’s like asking a dog not to bark or a bee not to buzz. It ain’t gonna work.”  
“I’m not a kid. I’m 26 and I know enough to tell you you’re wrong.” Lucio held out on giving Jamison his tea. This was an important topic to him, and he wasn’t about to let this slide.  
“Oh? Well I know enough to tell you I’ve seen some serious shit. You weren’t there when the Omnium exploded. You don’t know what I’ve been through.” Jamison narrowed his eyes and he looked dangerous for just a moment before he softened up again.  
“I guess you couldn’t know.” he mumbled. 

Lúcio chew his lower lip. Of course he couldn’t. It was more or less an open secret that Lieutenant Fawkes was there when the Australian Omnium went up. He should have known this would shape his opinion on omnics as well.  
“Didn’t the thing explode because of this liberation group?” Lucio asked.  
“Sort of.” Jamison sighed.  
“Sort of? What do you mean by that?”  
“I don’t really want to talk about it, Santos.” Jamison sat up from the bed and walked over to the door, seemingly limping even more than he usually did. “I’ll see you tomorrow for training.” The door hummed quietly as it closed behind him.

Lúcio leaned against the little counter, eyeing the unused cup in his hands. That was strange. Jamison looked pale when he left the room. Was he panicking? Lúcio groaned quietly. It was probably best he left. In the end he might have started a fight with him. He wouldn’t want to argue with his superior, even if they had their differences.  
He put the cup back into the shelf. Maybe tomorrow he could get a chance to properly talk this out over a cup of tea...

 

The following week was odd to say the least. Hana jokingly suggested it was the weather. It was spring after all and the weather tended to go a bit bizarre during spring. Lúcio was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the outdoors and a lot more with what was going on indoors.  
The news of Blackwatch being disbanded had finally reached most of Overwatch and even the press had gotten wind of it. Sometimes reporters would run through the halls, trying to get a hold off of Morisson or Amari, but nowadays they seemed to be even more frequent. Everyone, including the higher-ups, seemed a little overwhelmed with the aftermath of dismissing Blackwatch’s members and reintroducing them to regular Overwatch staff. 

Commander Rutledge was barely seen at the training sessions anymore, which worried Lúcio a little. Not only because he still had this itch, this need to prove himself to him, but also because Jamison seemed to be slacking. He seemed absent-minded for the past few days. Sometimes he would just stare into the void, as if he was daydreaming, only to be pulled out of his thoughts when someone talked to him. He would finish up training earlier than usual or just disappear all together.

“I talked to my mother about him.” Fareeha told that morning at the breakfast table. “They are planning to sent former Blackwatch members away to other watchpoints.”  
“You think they’re gonna send Jamison away?” Hana asked and sprinkled salt over her scrambled eggs.  
Fareeha shrugged. “Mother didn’t really gave me any details. Secure information and all. But considering how he has been acting it might be the case. Or maybe they sent away Rutledge. He hasn’t showed up to training for a while.”  
Lúcio scratched his cheek and poked his fatty bacon with a fork. Why did they always cut it so thick? Gross.  
“Lúce? What do you think?”  
“Huh?” Lúcio twitched surprised and looked at Hana.  
“Please don’t start drifting into La-La-Land, too, Lúce. You’re making me think it’s contagious.” the young woman returned with a chuckle, making Fareeha laugh a bit as well.  
Lúcio huffed in embarrassment. The two enjoyed teasing him here and there. They were right, Lúcio thought. Rutledge or Jamison being moved away was in the realm of possibilities. It happened all the time in military service. He went through three different instructors during his preparation camp after all. Perhaps he should talk to Jamison about it. Not only because he was worried about him, but the training routine suffered from his weird behaviour as well. This couldn’t go on like this.

After breakfast, Lúcio headed to Rutledge’s office. Doctor Ziegler allowed him to skip the classes for today to talk with his superiors. He assumed they would be there. Or at least Rutledge would be.

How would he even start? I’m sorry, Commander Rutledge, but Lieutenant Fawkes has been daydreaming and I’m worried he might be sick? Now that sounded a bit bonkers to be honest. Accusing his superior of daydreaming during the job would sound like an attempt to badmouth him in front of -

“You like him, don’t you?”  
Lúcio stopped an inch away from the door. The deep bass of Rutledge’s voice was loud enough to ring through the metal door. Obviously the commander was talking to someone else. Well, too bad. He wouldn’t want to disturb the commander in that case. At least now he got to enjoy a free afternoon.

“What do ya mean by that?”

Lúcio froze on the spot. That was Jamison’s voice.

“You’re his Lieutenant. His superior. I expect you to be professional.” Rutledge stated.  
“I am!” Jamison claimed.  
“Are you? Is that why the rest of the crew has been complaining about your recent behaviour? How you slack at every corner? How you don’t even seem interested during the meetings anymore?” Rutledge’s voice was harsh, lecturing. “This can’t go on, Jamie.”

Jamie. Lucio never heard anyone call Jamison that. It was always ‘Fawkes’ or ‘Jamison’. This sounded more personal. But then again, Mako and Jamison had known eachother for a long time. 

“Mako-” Jamison sounded genuinely troubled, a deep sigh leaving his throat.  
“The Null Sector threat is more real than ever, Jamie. I need you at your best. We can’t afford distractions. You’re my best agent. My best friend, but you’re also my charge. We’ve known eachother for years. I can see when something’s bothering you. And I know the look you’re giving that boy.”  
“Well aren’t you mister wise man.” Jamison spat. “Stop acting like you’re my guardian. I’m 25, I’ll handle my own affairs.”  
“Fine, but you need to do better. I’ve been able to keep you from getting relocated so far, but if this doesn’t change, I can’t make any promises.” Mako’s tone was stern, but Lucio could tell even in that deep gruff of it, Mako cared.  
“Was that a threat?!” Jamison hissed. “First you try and soften me up with your sentiment and then you drop this?! Get off of my back!”  
“Jamie-!”

The door slammed open and nearly hit Lucio, who jumped to the side just in time. Jamison stormed past, so fast that he didn’t even notice Lucio. Probably a good thing, considering the state he was in. Heavy footsteps ran to the door and Lucio was just in time to hide behind some boxes to escape Commander Rutledge’s line of sight. Both Jamison and Mako looked distraught, sad even. They probably didn’t argue like this much. 

Mako sighed and shook his head before the doors closed again, Lucio breathing a sigh of relief when he emerged from his hiding place. What was that all about? What the hell was “Null Sector”? And who was the boy they were talking about? Jamison had been acting strange because he had a crush on this boy, at least Lucio had learned that much from overhearing this. 

He thought it best not to disturb Commander Rutledge in this state, so Lucio returned to his bunk. At least he tried to.

Hana stopped him at the door. She was waiting for him, anxiously biting on her finger. Before he could open his mouth, she grabbed him by the shoulders.  
“Have you seen the news?”  
“What? No, I just came back from checking on Rutledge.”  
Hana held onto the arm of Lúcio’s shirt and pulled him to the dorm next to his, which was hers and Fareeha’s. The soldier was sitting in her bottom bunk, eyes fixated on the small TV screen mounted at the wall. At first all Lúcio could make out was smoke and what seemed to be lightning. A storm?

No. Storms didn’t make electronic noises.

“An omnic terrorist group just attacked London.” Fareeha muttered, her voice raspy and shaky. “Lieutenant McCree is already there, my mother said. She’s not happy about this.”  
“What! Why is McCree already there?” Hana asked with a tense face and voice.  
“How should I know? Maybe Gabriel sent him there.” Fareeha knew Commander Reyes long enough to have gotten used to calling him by his first name.  
Lúcio started to shake, his gut twisted and turned as he watched the scenes on the TV. Buildings burning, humans and omnics running away from those purple machines. Why would anyone do that to an omnic?  
“Why- why won’t they send us in? It’s our duty to protect those people!” Lucio insisted.  
“Lúce, as long as the Prime Minister won’t react, we can’t do anything.” Fareeha argued.  
“There are people dying there!” Lucio returned, “We can’t just sit here and watch! We were trained to help others! This is what we’re meant to do! To help people in distress!”

“Damn right you are.”

The three cadets turned around. A dark-skinned man, dressed from his beanie to his combat boots in dark grey stood in the open door.  
“Gab - Commander Reyes!” Fareeha exclaimed, jumping up and saluting, just like the other two. Gabriel’s face looked more serious than Lucio had ever seen it before as the Blackwatch overseer spoke. 

“At ease, kids. I got a job for you.”


	3. The Uprising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> London is in chaos...

“Commander Rutledge here. Come in, Fawkes!” Lucio listened as the Commander contacted his second via comm.   
“Fawkes here.” Jamison replied.  
“Morrison already sent in the senior team towards the cathedral. The junior team will serve as back-up to keep the senior team’s backs clear. Reyes will send McCree to the rendezvous point. Try to get there as fast as possible.” Rutledge spoke steadily but it was obvious that he was just as shaken by this as anyone else.   
“Understood.” Jamison replied.   
“Don’t mess it up, Jamison. Either this mission goes through or our asses will be handed to the Prime Minister.”  
“Hah! Would be a lot of ass in your case, Mako.” Jamison laughed over the comm, the sound making Lucio’s stomach flutter. Maybe there was a spark of hope after all. It was a welcome change to all the doom and gloom that was currently going on, even if this was in no way a joke.  
“I’m serious. Please, be careful.” Rutledge said, the concern clear in his voice.   
“Don’t worry about it. Fawkes out.”

 

Lúcio looked up towards the cockpit when Jamison ended the call. His legs were shaking and his stomach felt weird. The plane Overwatch sent them to London in was anything but comfortable and kept rattling here and there, making him fear they might crash. He saw Fareeha clinging onto her helmet, that rested in her lap, while Hana was kneading her knees nervously.

This was it. 

Barely a month in proper training and already they were on a mission. One with incredibly high stakes at that. Sure, no pressure. This was ridiculous. As much as Lúcio wanted to help, this was still too much responsibility. Add in the fact that all three of them weren’t used to their personal gear yet. Hana barely had time to adjust to the new MEKA model they introduced, Fareeha still struggled with her rocket launcher and Lúcio had nothing but his skates. His own little project. Hard-light skates, made for the battlefield. His healing equipment was still in development. He had it with him in his backpack, but to be safe he resorted to his training equipment, a healing staff and a gun.

This was all he had. All he knew. All he’d trained for.  
Was he really ready for this?  
No, he wasn’t. But there was no turning back. 

Jamison groaned and finally made his way to the backroom, where the three cadets waited.  
“Alright, guys. This will be your first field day. Rutledge wants us to keep the underground clear for our main team. This should be easy enough, shooting at tin cans and all. We already did that in training. Song, I want you and Amari up front. Keep an eye on Santos. He’s our medic. Protect him at all costs. We die without him.”

Well, that was reassuring.

“What exactly is the mission?” Hana asked.  
“Senior team’s gonna destroy the turrets that are shooting down our aerial support. Then they’re going to deliver a payload with explosives and blow open the door to their command center. Our job is to keep the reinforcement troops as minimal as possible. We go underground. According to the old cowboy Null Sector uses the underground to get around. So we’re gonna wait for them there.”

“Sir, I’m not sure if firing my rockets would be the best idea in such limited space.” Fareeha threw in, but Jamison only looked at her sternly. He was tense, more than he let on.  
“I know that. Not every situation is going to be ideal for everyone. Hell, this whole ordeal shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Best we can do is our best. This is more than anyone expected.”  
“We can’t just go in guns blazing! We need a plan!” Lúcio argued and his tongue slipped. “We’re not ready!”  
Jamison glanced at Lúcio for a moment. “Mission is all that counts. This needs to be done. We have no choice. I’m sorry to throw you all in this head first, it’s not how imagined your first field mission would go either. But we have a duty. And we’ll get through this if we stick together. Follow my lead and don’t stray too far from the group and we’ll make sure we get home safe.”  
“Yes sir.” Hana nodded. 

They had to wait for the strike team to tear down the air defenses before they could land, but by then their arrival was no surprise anymore. As soon as they touched down, they were in the thick of things, getting shot from all sides. 

“Song, take the lead and give us some shelter! The underground is just down the street there! We’ll provide cover fire!” Jamison ordered as they jumped off the plane. They grouped up behind Hana’s MEKA and shot their way to the underground entrance without too much trouble, the null sector troops being thin here because the strike team was probably still their main focus. 

“Get back, I’ll cover our backs!” Jamison set a few charges at the underground’s entrance, everyone taking their distance before he blew it up. This way, no null sector troops could come in behind them at least. 

“Right. No turning back now.” Jamison said, looking ahead to the underground train shaft.   
“Strike team come in, this is Lieutenant Fawkes. We’re in position.” Jamison activated his comm line with the main team that was above grounds.   
“This Lieutenant Wilhelm, reading you loud and clear. Any support you can give would be appreciated. They are flooding from the underground stations.”  
“You got it Rein.” Jamison replied. “We’ll take care of the ones we run into underground. Where are you currently?”  
“We’ve just had the airship dropped in, central square.”  
“Copy that. Fawkes out.” Jamison orientated himself and determined the right way to go, pointing in said direction. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. Let’s be on our way. I’ll take point.”

For a few minutes, it was just an empty train shaft, the four of them listening to the noises that came from above them. Bullets, mechanical beeping, screaming and explosions. To tell the truth, Lucio would rather be up there, actively helping the people of the city. But he had to believe this ultimately would be for the greater good. The strike team was already in the city, they would do whatever they could. 

It wasn’t long before they encountered a horde of null sector bots at the next station, all gathered there as if waiting for the order to go topside. They’d never get there, though. Jamison guarded the exit topside, keeping any bots from getting past, while the three new recruits did their part in taking down the bulk of the bots. Lucio was surprised by how well they were doing, all things considered. Perhaps training had rubbed off on them more than he’d initially thought.   
Jamison set the charges at the entrance once more, though he did not detonate them yet. He would likely save that for an emergency, should it come up. 

They moved on, but the train shaft was now far from empty. Everywhere they encountered resistance, slicers, troopers, detonators, eradicators, everything was thrown their way and they melted their way through like a hot knife through butter. 

“Fawkes here, Strike team do you read?”  
“We read you!” Lena’s voice on the comm responded. “What’s the situation down there?”  
“We’ve got it under control, so far everything’s smooth. You ready to blow up that door to their command centre yet?” Jamison asked.   
“The payload is on it’s way! We’re doing our best to keep it safe but there’s a lot of them, even with you cutting them off. Any useful advice, Lieutenant Fawkes?” Tracer requested.   
“Don’t die.” Jamison grinned, hearing Lena’s exasperated noise on the comm.   
“Useful.” Angela chimed in. “Once we’ve blown up the door, we could use your force to help us take down whatever’s in the command centre.”  
“Copy that. We’ll make sure we’re there.” Jamison nodded. “Stay safe. Fawkes out.” 

As soon as he’d disconnected, there was a huge noise that filled the station, the walls and floor shaking heavily. The noise nearly deafened Lucio, an urgent beep that became louder and louder. The floor shook violently and some of the ceiling came down, Pharah only just able to jump aside. With a glance to Jamison, Lucio knew they were in trouble. He’d never seen Jamison so perplexed. Almost fearful. And Lucio could see why. 

They were faced with a giant bot, purple like the others, but much larger and with a radiant blue core in the middle, protected by multiple shields. It walked on two legs and had one arm that was made to crush, while the other arm sported a minigun much like a Bastion’s, only much larger, with bullets that looked like they could tear through anything. This was unlike any bot Lucio had learned about. 

“This is Fawkes to all null sector operatives in the area. We’ve just encountered a behemoth. Requesting orders.” Jamison ducked behind cover while he reported directly to the main channel, where Reyes, Rutledge, Amari and Morrison were listening.   
“Get out of there.” Rutledge immediately responded. “We’re not equipped to deal with behemoths. If that core explodes the whole city will be wiped away!”   
“We should have expected they would send one.” Morrison argued. “We can’t let it roam freely.”  
“We can’t expect our soldiers to die senselessly either!” Ana returned.   
“We also can’t argue until the behemoth overruns them!” Reyes interrupted. “Fawkes, can you dismantle the core? You’ve had experience with that, right?”  
“I can. Consider it done.” Jamison said.   
“Jamie!-”  
“Fawkes out.” Jamison disconnected the comm before Rutledge could argue and set his sights on the core. 

“Right team, listen up.” Jamison gritted his teeth as the Behemoth took another step in their direction. “Pharah, try to keep it’s head distracted. Hana, I need you to soak whatever that gun spits out. Lu, I need a boost up to the core. Keep your heads and we’ll get through this!”   
“Roger!” Hana said, charging in with Pharah to distract the monstrosity. Lucio admired their courage, and he really hoped this wasn’t a fool’s errand as he sticked to Jamison’s tail, the two moving when the Behemoth turned to follow Hana’s MEKA.

“Hey Santos!” Jamison said as they waited for an opening. “If we live through this, I’ll buy you dinner!”   
“What?!” Lucio shouted, exasperated. This was no time for jokes!  
“Let’s go!” Jamison jumped in when he saw a gap in the behemoth’s defenses, latching on to the blunt end of the swinging arm and clenching on until it stabilized. He clawed his way up to the behemoth’s torso, starting to pry open the shield of the core. Not easy while the bot was moving around to follow Pharah. Large bullets pierced the walls as the gun followed Pharah’s flight pattern, the rubble shooting off the walls and splintering down on the floor. The behemoth’s feet created giant footsteps on the rails and tiles. This whole monstrosity was made to kill, to maim and destroy. A swing of it’s giant arm and the billboards came crashing down, Lucio only just able to jump away in time. He did his best to damage the bot’s legs, firing his gun at it, though it seemed to do little to nothing. 

The behemoth lashed out when it felt someone was prying at it’s plates, Hana’s MEKA coming apart with a horrible noise, though Lucio saw how Hana jumped to safety like she’d done it a hundred times before. Maybe she had.   
“Initiating self destruct!” she warned, a last ditch effort to damage the behemoth.   
“No, wait!” Lucio wanted to jump in and tear Jamison off the behemoth, but he was stopped by Pharah, who grabbed both him and Hana, throwing them all behind cover just in time with a boost of her rocket pack. 

The explosion of the MEKA shook the station, the walls coming apart and a low rumble as it started coming down. Lucio saw the behemoth fall, it’s core rolling away from the body. It was no longer radiating, and Lucio assumed that meant it was diffused. But where was Jamison? Lucio crawled to his feet much quicker than he should have, stumbling over the rubble as he hurried toward the now inactive behemoth. Hana’s desperate move had done it’s job, but at what cost? 

A raspy cough, some movement under the rubble. He was alive. Lucio climbed over the fallen bot and started digging to help Jamison get out, taking him by the hand and lifting him up to his feet. Jamison was covered in dust and rubble, but he seemed unharmed, apart from a few tears in his suit. 

“Are you okay?” Lucio asked, worried as he dusted a bit of rubble off of Jamison’s shoulder.   
Before Jamison could answer, the walls came down with a massive rumble, the whole station shaking and the ceilings collapsing on top of them. Lucio found himself following protocol, yanking Jamison along at his arm and drawing him with him to the nearest door. Doorways were always more structurally sound than the rest of a tunnel. It was their best chance of survival. 

When the dust cleared and they dared to open their eyes again, the station had been destroyed. There was glass and stone and wood everywhere in unrecognizable piles of rubble. 

“Holy shit.” Lucio muttered, shaking on his legs.   
“Quick thinking, Santos.” Jamison said, obviously still shaken as well. “Saved my life.”  
Lucio looked around and saw they were cut off from Pharah and Hana.  
“Pharah? Hana?” he tried calling them over comm.  
“Lucio? Is that you? Are you okay?” Hana replied  
“I’m fine. The rubble didn’t hit us.” Lucio answered.  
“We’re not hit either, but it looks like we’re cut off from the station. Orders?” Pharah asked.  
“Backtrack and leave the underground where I set the charges.” Jamison said. “We’ll use this exit and catch up with you at the command centre. The strike team should be there by now.”  
“Copy that.” Pharah replied. “We’ll meet you there.”

“Well.” Jamison took a deep breath as they climbed over the rubble to the nearest exit. “That honestly went better than expected.”  
“Really?!” Lucio hissed, still a little rattled.   
“We’re not dead, are we? I’d call that a success.” Jamison grinned. “Just the command centre left now. Easy peasy after that Behemoth.”  
“Did you really mean to take me out for dinner if we make it back alive?” Lucio frowned.   
“Sure! I’m a man of my word!” Jamison insisted. “You like Japanese food? I know a great Sushi place!”  
“With respect, Lieutenant- we’re on a critical mission.” Lucio said, not sure what to think of this. Was Jamison making light to cheer himself up? Maybe he wanted it to seem like things would be fine. Comfort him.   
“I see! I can take a hint, Santos!” Jamison laughed. Lucio rolled his eyes, doubting that statement very much. 

They travelled through the streets of wrecked London, running past the piles of metal that were once null sector bots. The strike team had done their job thoroughly. It was easy to follow the trail of destruction to the door they’d blown up, but they didn’t find the scene they thought they’d find. 

Tracer was leaned against the wall, hand covering her opposite arm, bleeding profusely. Mercy was tending to her, but she looked banged up as well. Torbjorn was down, Reinhardt’s shield mechanism broken from the abuse it’d seen. Pharah and Hana were there too, but they weren’t in any better shape. Pharah’s jet driver had malfunctioned and Hana was hurt, and with no MEKA, she wouldn’t be able to join the fight. 

“What the hell happened?” Jamison kneeled with Tracer.   
“They’re everywhere. There’s too many, we had to pull back.” Mercy shook her head. “We’ve called for evac.”  
“But the mission isn’t finished.” Jamison said. “We can’t leave this stronghold standing. They still have hundreds of hostages.”  
“We’ll be of no use to them dead!” Torbjorn argued.   
“They’ll be killed now that they know we’re attempting to rescue them!” Jamison countered. “We have to finish the mission. This command centre has to be destroyed. Who’s still fit to fight?” he looked around, Reinhardt, Lucio and Pharah stepping forward.   
“I can’t go airborne, but I still have my armour and my rockets.”  
“And my shield is destroyed, but my armour can still take the blows for you.” Reinhardt said, hand on his chest. “And I still have my hammer!”  
“I’m with you, Lieutenant.” Lucio saluted.   
“Alright. We can still pull this off.”  
“Are you insane!?” Mako’s voice over the comm. “They took down our most experienced strike team!”  
“Tough luck. Now they get to deal with us.” Jamison replied, immediately disconnecting again.   
“Get ready to move. You have two minutes.” 

They watched how an evac shuttle took away the injured strike team before they gathered the resources they still had left. Lucio’s heart was racing, but this was exactly why he’d signed on. To make a difference. To save innocent lives. He admired Jamison’s decision to stay and try again for the sake of the hostages. They might have their differences, but Jamison had his heart in the right place, and Lucio found himself trusting him. It was ride or die. 

“Okay. Reinhardt you’ve seen the inside of this place.” Jamison said, sizing up the warehouse from the opening they’d created. “What can we expect?”  
“Constant firing, Bastions, OR-14’s and null troopers in abundance. Stay behind cover at all times and do not wander off on your own.” Reinhardt gave them the short version.   
“Alright. You three stick together then. My plan requires me to separate from you, though.” Jamison nodded.   
“What is the plan?” Reinhardt asked.   
“I need you to corner the OR-14’s on the furthest platform. That’s all you need to know. Leave the rest to me. We’ll stay in touch.” Jamison explained.   
“What if you don’t make it?” Pharah asked.   
“Then you three should get out of here. Leave me behind.” Jamison muttered, sorting the last of his bombs.   
“Stop trying to play hero.” Mako’s voice again. “You’re just being foolish, Jamie.”  
“It’s about time I proved you don’t need to baby me anymore. We’ll see who’s right when I come home with our enemy's head on a stake.” Jamison’s confidence was a minor comfort as Lucio checked for the last time if he was completely kitted out.   
“Graphic.” Pharah whispered to Lucio with a nervous smile. 

“Right, I’ll see you on the platform. Good luck in there. Keep them safe, will ya Rein?” Jamison nodded and shared a look with Reinhardt before he took off, back into the city, disappearing into an underground entrance.   
“Alright. Team, stay close.” Reinhardt said. “We should be as stealthy as possible. Keep our presence a surprise as long as we can.”

The three proceeded through the beaten path the others had created, Lucio looking on in awe as he saw the piles of scrap. They had to have beaten hundreds to get as far as they did.   
They hid in a small side building just off the main room, seeing a couple of OR-14’s, several bastions, and numerous null troopers and eradicators.   
“Damn, there’s way too many.” Pharah swore. “Where is the Lieutenant?”  
“Jamison? Come in, Jamison.” Reinhardt hissed in his communicator, but got no reply except static. Lucio felt his heart stop. What if Jamison was injured? Or worse, dead?   
“Shit.” Reinhardt swore. “Alright, we should pull back now that we can.”  
“No, we can’t abandon the hostages.” Lucio argued. “Even if Jamison is lost, we should try.”  
“And die senselessly? No. I won’t let that happen.” Reinhardt refused.   
“I agree we should try.” Pharah joined Lucio in the argument.   
“There’s hundreds of people in that cell. We have to try. They will all die if we don’t.” Lucio said, hoping to convince Reinhardt. Reinhardt sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with worry.

“Ana’s going to kill me. Alright. Way I see it, our best chance is to sneak out on the right and take out the OR-14 standing guard there. We can use it’s body as a shield for the bastion’s bullets. Then we move to the next, Fareeha, you fire at the bastions with your rockets, it’s our only hope of getting out alive.”  
“No pressure.” Pharah chuckled. “You got it, Reinhardt.”  
“Lucio, stay behind me at all times and work your magic.”  
“Alright.” Lucio chuckled at Reinhardt's phrasing. 

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Reinhardt looked at his two teammates, both nodding.   
“Okay. at three we jump in. One, two-

 

They were just about to jump out when a massive explosion shook the whole base, the floor in the middle blowing up just before Reinhardt could shout ‘Three!’ 

Instead he now sheltered the two young ones under his armour, the falling rubble was everywhere, dust and rock landing on them. Lucio could barely breathe with the thick dust getting into his lungs, but they were safe under Reinhardt's sturdy armour. When it all finally settled, Lucio could hear nothing but heavy coughing in the room. 

Jamison.

Lucio wormed his way out from under Reinhardt, climbing over piles of rock to get to the centre of the explosion. There was a huge hole in the floor, rubble beneath it, in what looked like a secret tunnel. 

“Jamison?!” Lucio called, his voice echoing over the dusty leftovers of the explosion. Lucio was still trembling, a beep in his ears, but he had bigger concerns. Jamison was underneath there, somewhere. He heard coughing again, an attempt at talking.  
“L-Lu?” 

That was all Lucio needed to hear, jumping down the hole and using his skates to dampen the blow, smoothly sliding down.   
“Jamie, where are you?” Lucio said, looking around.   
“Fuck if I know. There’s shittons of rubble.” Jamison attempted to laugh but all that came out was a gurgling cough. “Shit, fuckin’ bleeding everywhere.”  
“Jamie!” Lucio saw something move in the rubble and was there in the blink of an eye, starting to dig Jamison out. 

“Did it work?” Jamison asked as soon as Lucio had pulled him out from under the rubble.   
“Yeah. All the omnics are down. Good god- your arm!” Lucio held Jamie down as he tried to sit up. His right arm was severed from the elbow down, no doubt an effect of the explosion. It was bleeding profusely, Jamie panting hard and barely maintaining consciousness.   
“Don’t move. Reinhardt, we need an evac right now! Jamie’s blown his arm off!” Lucio called up through the hole, where Reinhardt and Pharah were looking down. 

“Wow, way to burst the bomb.” Jamison mumbled, looking at his right arm. “Rude.”  
“Shut up you fucking idiot.” Lucio hissed, pulling a bandage out of his back pocket. Never hurt to be prepared. “You could have gotten us all killed!”  
“But I didn’t.” Jamie smirked. “Are the hostages safe?”  
“Yes, but you might die! The commander was right, you’re just trying to play hero!” Lucio said, angrily. “I won’t let you die on me, asshole. You’re not becoming a martyr here.”  
“I’m really feeling the love.” Jamie chuckled.   
“Shut up and lie still.” Lucio said, determined. “I’ll make you live through this. If it’s the last thing I do. The commander is going to skin you alive when he finds out what happened.”  
“Hey, Lu?” Jamison mumbled, his eyes becoming more vague, head lolling slightly.   
“Hm?” Lucio bound the wound as tightly as he could to help stop the bleeding. He could only hope it was enough until the evac came. 

“We’re still on for dinner, right?” Jamie smiled faintly before he lost consciousness, Lucio laughing at the silly question. He looked up, where he saw the survivors come out of their prison, eager to leave the command centre. Reinhardt climbed down and took Jamison’s unconscious body, hurrying it back to the exit, where the evac was waiting.


	4. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after...

Lúcio blinked a little against the blinding light. The lamps in the hallway stung in his eyes, even though they were dimmed. It was four in the morning after all. He sat up, his whole body aching from the mission and the uncomfortable sleeping position. The humming door woke him up, when Doctor Ziegler stepped out of it. She looked drained from the mission as well, the stress still lingering in her face. Her cloudy eyes wandered to the side. She already expected Lúcio to be sitting next to the door, napping on the folding chair she gave him earlier. He had refused to move. She gave him a tired smile.  
“You are still here.” she said, hugging a clipboard. “You can see him now, if you want to. The commander is already inside.”  
He just nodded a bit as he sat up and passed the doctor, who held her hand in to keep the door open. Once the cadet was inside, the door closed itself behind him.

Jamison was lying in the far back of the patient’s room, his now torn leather jacket placed neatly folded onto a nearby chair. Towering next to his bed was Commander Rutledge, hands resting on the side of Jamison’s bed, glance resting on the sleeping soldier. When he noticed steps coming closer, he lifted his head up. The bags under his eyes were emphasized by the dawn breaking through the cheap window blinds.  
Lúcio saluted weakly. “Commander.”  
“Ease.” Mako replied and his eyes trailed back to Jamison. “I saw you outside earlier. How long have you been here?”  
“Since we returned, Sir.”  
Mako snorted amused. “Seven hours. You’re crazy, boy. Why didn’t you get some proper sleep? You’ve got training later.”  
Lúcio looked onto the floor. His voice suddenly dropped to a raspy whisper. “I’m sorry.”  
The taller man shook his head. “Don’t apologize for something that doesn’t needs an apology.”  
Lúcio made a brave step closer. Jamie’s face was covered in little bandaids and his arm was in a bind. Despite him hanging on a drip and a heart-rate meter, he didn’t look half as exhausted as Lúcio felt, which was oddly relieving.  
“Look at this idiot.” Mako said. “He should be glad he’s still alive.”  
“Shouldn’t we maybe inform his family? Tell them about…”  
Mako shook his head again. “There is no family. At least we could never find any relatives. I’m guessing Jamie’s parents died when the Omnium core in Australia exploded. Maybe they lived a bit too close to the blow or something.” 

The commander pulled the chair closer and lifted the jacket up from the seat, throwing it in a corner. Slowly the man sank into the seat and sighed. He rubbed a spot on his back and another on his forehead. Lúcio could tell that this situation was getting to the veteran.  
“You know…” he began to tell and gazed towards the window. “A lot of kids back then shared that fate: Stranded somewhere in the wastes of the Outback without parents, forced to become a scavenger to be able to survive out there.”  
Lúcio sat down against the free space on the bed. His legs felt weak, despite him sitting for hours now.

Mako continued to talk. “I was a member of Overwatch’s watchpoint in New Zealand back then and organised aid programs to tend to people in the irradiated areas. Headquarters wasn’t too happy about that, but I was never a poster boy anyway. Imagine my face, when, one day, I found some little one-legged boy, no older than ten, hopping through our food supplies, waving around some fireworks and calling me a ‘fat pig’. He was a brat even then. He bragged about making those himself, the fireworks. He was talented. Had more knowledge about chemistry than some of the people in our camps. Decided he was better off somewhere else, so I grabbed him and brought him to Timaru.”  
“That’s how he got into Overwatch?” Lucio frowned.  
“He got a proper education and when he was old enough he entered the recruitment class, like you did. Then the watchpoint was abandoned and we got moved to serve in the HQ for Blackwatch. Proudest day of his fucking life, I guess. Should have seen his face, when he got the jacket. Or the first time someone called him ‘Lieutenant’. Immediately back to being the little hopping rat.”

He chuckled, but the humor of his laughter faded away rather quickly. Mako brushed some hair out of Jamie’s sleeping face. The gesture was tender, almost fatherly. “Always had to prove himself, that idiot. As if he had to show that he had a point in life, a reason to be. Dumb fool.”  
Lúcio nodded, listening to the Commander’s story. He kept looking at Jamison. Even asleep he seemed to have a permanent smugness to his expression. What Mako told him sounded way too familiar to him. Lúcio saw a bit of himself in Jamison’s behaviour. The need to get recognized, the need to be seen, the need to prove himself. Lúcio studied his feet, the boots still crusted with dust and dirt from the mission. Jamison took a lot of risks, but should he really blame him for trying to do what he thinks was right? Even if it’s just to gain some sort of recognition? Was that really worth losing an arm for him? Was Jamison really this ruthless?

A long sigh made Lúcio snap out of his thoughts. Mako had stood up from his chair again and stretched his body, exposing his fat belly. “I need a nap. Do me a favour, Cadet? Stay with Jamison until he wakes up. You can skip training today. I’ll inform Morrison.”  
Lúcio nodded and sat up to salute. Mako huffed and started to trot towards the door.  
“Good work out there, Soldier. You should be proud of yourself.”  
Lúcio felt his stomach tingling and his chest puffing out with pride, as Commander Rutledge left the room.  
Finally. Recognition.

“Fucking hell.”

The medic twitched, when he heard a voice. Logic told him that it could only be Jamison, but it was still startling. He spun around, seeing the blonde man lift his head up from the pillow, eyelids obviously still heavy. He was chuckling, his voice sounding like he had something stuck in his throat.  
“Old fart’s getting sentimental.” he muttered, glancing after Mako, or rather at the door. “Just spitting out my tragic backstory. Now I’m not mysterious anymore.” He slowly leaned back again, facing the ceiling. “He forgot the best part, too.”  
Lúcio pulled the chair closer and sat down, sighing in relief. “You lost a limb, Jamison. Give him a break.”  
“Yeah. Another. Still got fifty percent of the others left, though, right? That has to count for something.”  
Lúcio laughed quietly, not because he actually thought it was funny, but to reassure Jamison. “It’s good to see you are awake. How do you feel?”  
“Like shit. Guess that’s part of the deal.” Jamison lifted his arm up and looked at his now gone hand. His weak smile fell apart. His arm dropped back and he sighed. “Ah. It was worth it, wasn’t it? What kind of a guy would prefer having two arms over having people be safe, right? No big deal.”  
Lúcio paused for a moment, scanning Jamie’s face, who started to glance idly at him. He looked tired, numb almost. He was in pain, and he was playing it down. Not the best attitude considering his situation. Losing a limb shouldn’t be treated that lightly. Blood loss, circulation problems and of course the resulting disabilities and the risk of developing phantom pains aren’t exactly joke material. At least in Lúcio’s mind.  
“Jamison.” he said and slowly placed his hand onto the other’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You did great out there. But…It’s okay to be upset, too. No one expects you to be alright again within seconds. You are badly hurt and you need to heal. You can stop acting like the arm will grow back.”  
Jamison looked confused for a moment, as if he had to process, what the medic told him. His face lit up for a second with realisation before he chuckled again and closed his eyes, head slowly sinking back into the pillow.  
“It hurts so much, Lu.”  
“I can imagine.” Lúcio looked up to the drip. Pain reliever. “Should I ask the Doc to up your medication?”  
“Nah. I’ll press through it.”  
“Hey, I told you to stop playing brave!”  
“I’m not.” Jamison complained and Lúcio could hear him hiss quietly through his teeth. “Just stings a bit.”  
Lúcio sighed in defeat. “Can I do something else for you?”  
“Dunno. What are you even doing here?” Jamison asked and opened his eyes again. He looked like he was about to doze off any second.  
Lúcio chuckled and his lips and throat felt dry. “I patched you up, you heartless idiot! I wanted to know my patient is alright!” Jamison mirrored the other’s laughter as good as he was able to.  
“Thank you, mate.”  
“Hey. It’s my job, right? Besides, I can’t just let you die after you offered to buy me dinner.”  
“Harsh!” Jamison returned and suddenly seemed wide awake. “Free food is all you need to save a poor man’s ass! You are easy, boy, easy, I tell ya!”  
“I’m only easy for people I like.”  
This sentence seemed to have disarmed Jamison, because he opened his mouth, but no word came out. He closed it, glancing to the side, avoiding Lúcio’s own gaze. “Asshole.” he muttered and was suddenly very interested in his bandaged arm. Or the lack thereof.  
Lúcio hummed. “Did I embarrass you?”  
“Nah.”  
“Are you sure?” Lúcio asked and couldn’t help but feel gleeful about Jamison’s reaction. It was strangely adorable to see him get flustered.  
“Very sure.” Jamison returned and it was obviously a lie, but who cares? Lieutenant Fawkes, show-off par excellence, a guy known to handle explosive chemicals with the easiness of toys, gets flustered by a little bit a flirting from a cadet. And it was hilarious.  
“I’ll see you get some more medication.” Lúcio finally said. “Just to make sleep a bit easier.” He got up from the chair and walked to the corner Mako threw the jacket into to pick it up and fold it back into a bundle again.

“Oi?”  
Lúcio turned around. Jamison held his arm as he slowly moved to lay on his side.  
“‘Bout that dinner date…”  
“We can talk about it more when you are out of the med bay.” Lúcio replied and placed the jacket onto the chair, brushing over it to make it look as neat as a dirty leather jacket can look like.  
“Urgh...that’ll take weeks, mate!” Jamison grumbled. “I don’t have time for that! Got places to be!”  
“Like where?”  
“Outside. Eating dinner with you.”  
Lúcio rolled his eyes. “You are really eager about that, aren’t you?”  
“Haven't had a nice dinner in ages, mate. Don’t blame me.”  
“I won’t, don’t worry.” Lúcio returned and patted the other’s shoulder gently. “I’m sorry, but...you should really sleep now. You lost a lot of blood after all.”  
“Yeah, yeah…just don’t tell Papa Pig out there. I don’t wanna be faced with his wrath right away.”  
“Don’t sweat it.” Lúcio chuckled and closed the room’s blinds to dim the light a bit more. He started to walk away, towards the door, slowly feeling sleepiness creep up onto him, as a thought stopped him an inch away from the door. He turned around again. Jamison went back to lying on his back, his eyes pointed towards the ceiling fan. And for a second there, Lúcio felt a tickling feeling in his chest.  
“Jamie?”  
Jamison turned his head.  
“I’m glad you are okay, too.”  
Jamison smiled at Lúcio. “Same. Get some rest, will you?” Lúcio saluted and finally made his way out of the door.


End file.
